'Omar responded to Ka'ab: " There is only one prayer direction - Mecca. Where should we pray?" Ka'ab said: " Let is pray from the northern part of the mount so we can pray towards "the two prayer directions - in Arabic "Qiblatayn" meaning both towards the Holy of the Holies of the destroyed Jewish Temple (i.e., where the Dome of the Rock is today) and towards Mecca.
While they were both up on the Temple Mount, 'Omar said to Ka'ab: " It is time to pray.
'Omar ibn Khattab, the Muslim conqueror of Jerusalem in the seventh century, and Ka'ab al-Akhbar, his aide who had converted to Islam from Judaism. There's some doctrinal background to take on board, as Dr Rhode writes, in the story of It is saying that they are prostrating themselves towards what is holy, and the Dome of the Rock - also on the Temple Mount - is therefore not holy. Putting your rear end towards something in the Middle East is dishonoring it. Towards the Dome of the Rock, which Muslims say to so holy to them as well. And he then points out what most observers will have overlooked: It's an interesting photograph, writes Dr Rhode. Between 19, he was an adviser on Islamic Affairs in the Office of Net Assessment, the Pentagon's think-tank. A professor of Islamic history at the University of Delaware in the early eighties, he spent much of his career as an adviser on the Islamic world to the US government. We saw a comment this morning from an astute and uncommonly well-informed observer, Dr Harold Rhode. We suspect the photo editors at Reuters, which circulated the photo among its syndication customers, might be surprised at the interpretation we are about to share. Its impact was evidently lost on the editors at Arab News who published it. The point of the photo might not be immediately obvious to everyone. The source caption reads in part: "Palestinians from Gaza pray in front of the Dome of the Rock during their visit at the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City October 5, 2014. And here's the photo that accompanies the report: It describes how the Israeli authorities have just permitted Gazan senior citizens to travel to Jerusalem and to visit Islamic places of worship. There's a very different view of Jerusalem in a syndicated AFP report from yesterday here's a link to the version published in the Saudi-based English-language Arab News. The day's brilliant sunny weather added to the immense beauty of the vista.
#Nizar qabbani oh jerusalem windows
Meanwhile for the worshipers gathered and fasting in our synagogue, today's Jerusalem in all its golden splendor was on view just outside the windows of our house of prayer which overlooks the capital's hills and homes from a gorgeous vantage point. " The quintessential rite of ancient Judaism, the most solemn moment of the Jewish year involving the holiest person (Kohen Gadol), the holiest time (Yom Kippur), and the holiest place (Temple in Jerusalem)" The narrative which plays a central role in the Musaf liturgy - the lengthy narrative section called the Avoda - describes in detail how the Day of Atonement looked to Jews living in Jerusalem two thousand years ago: Sitting in synagogue during the day-long Yom Kippur prayers this past weekend, it was difficult to avoid reflecting on the central role played by Jerusalem down through the generations. Admitted to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount